Army of TWO: Deadly Accord
by J.Steele
Summary: One year after the events in Shanghai, Tyson Rios and Elliot Salem have parted ways. Alice is still alive, but T.W.O nor Elliot's new business venture are not quite the same. Rios takes on new operatives such as Eko, Greek, Alpha, and Bravo...while Salem returns to his roots in the streets. These two worlds begin to intertwine once more...and possibly bring two old friends together
1. Chapter 1

Tyson Rios. Elliot Salem.

**ARMY OF T.W.O:**  
DEADLY ACCORD

**Prologue**

"You **fucking** shot me!"

The voice of Elliot Salem rang out through the small Motel 6 Hotel room in Miami. It had been eight months since Tyson and Elliot took down the Shanghai attack, and the two hadn't any words for one another. Actually, it was **Salem** who did not have much to say at all to his former friend. Salem wasn't much of the young punk he once was, but the anger in him was only salted by what he felt was betrayal. If Salem had bathed or shaven more than once a month, it would take a polygraph test for Tyson or Alice to even begin to believe it.

"Salem," Tyson Rios' deep tone was calm as he stood across from his friend. "I **said** I was sorry for that. It was one of us or _**millions**_ of people. That was the right call…at least it seemed."

Salem paced over toward the window and propped his tattooed forearm up against the opened window after parting the curtain. He kept his back to Tyson and Alice, who was sitting with her arm in a sling with some of her injuries still visibly healing.

"We shouldn't have been there." Salem continued on with disdain in his voice. He needed a drink. "We should have gotten Alice and bailed the hell out. We nearly got her **killed** out there, Rios!" He turned around and jabbed his right index finger downward to drive his point. "We nearly got her killed, and ourselves in the process! For _what_? Is that what T.W.O. about? **Meaningless** sacrifice?"

"We live as a team, we die as a team." Rios said softly. "I thought you were with me. I thought you wanted to **do the right thing**, Salem."

"Do the right…" The younger man chuckled as he turned his back. He palmed his forehead as he faced the window again.

Alice sighed gently as she sat on the bed. "Elliot…" She set up this meeting unbeknownst to her friends. It was a bit comical at first when Salem thought it was some kind of 'official date' for the two of them, until Rios showed. She was starting to feel guilty about bringing this hostile situation to a head-on collision. "**We** saved those people. It could have happened here in the states. Are they no more important than anyone else?"

"I was raised on the streets, Alice." Salem responded. "**Blu-Bludz** raised me out there…" He grimaced a little. "First thing I learned was you never turn on one of your own, and you never do more than you gotta do to survive. That's a good way to die." He still had some of the tattoos from the gang. It was a life he had long before he became a ranger and got tagged up with Rios. "Military wasn't my life like Rios. It was an _escape_. I guess he's the one with a death wish since he can't fix his failin' marriage."

Tyson's lips pursed with mild anger. "You really gotta bring that into this?" Rios narrowed his eyes and kept his distance. "Do you really have to sink that low, Salem?"

"Yeah, I do!" The man turned around with a grimace. "Clearly you've got somethin' rattlin' around in your head that makes you think…that makes you think nothing else matters but what **you** want. Nothing else matters but what **you** think is right. I followed you all these years, and it took taking a **bullet** for you to realize how selfish you are."

"Guys…" Alice stood as Salem walked closer.

"How many bullets have I taken for you, huh **kid**?" Rios wasn't going to back down, but he didn't want to damage getting his friend back. "When I dragged your carcass through the dirt and got you to safety? Did you forget any of that? Did you think I forgot when you saved my ass? I made a **mistake**, and-…"

"_Go screw yourself, Rios_." Salem interrupted. "I'm **never** working with you again. I don't care if you try to drag Alice into this, I don't care if you pay me, you and I are **done**. I'm out of T.W.O." Salem shoulder bumped Rios on his way to the door. "Call you later, Alice."

"Salem!" Rios turned as the door was open and in turn slammed shut. The large man palmed his large forehead as he paced the room. "…What are we gonna do…? I **need** Salem. He knows these guys better than anyone…"

Alice shook her head while she sat back down on the bed. "…The Blu-Bludz can be worked around. I just fear that this take-over in Mexico with the Sicario Cartel that supplies them is going to get worse. I hear that…a few of the Insurgent Dragons will be present as well. A lot of people are going to die…"

Alice knew all too well. The Insurgent Dragons were a group of American terrorists that formerly made up the working class and wealthy class of America. They'd separated from the United States, claiming it to be 'impure' and no longer going in a direction the founding fathers set for them. They were as bad as any terrorist organization, and especially deadly since, unlike most enemies overseas, they could blend in **extremely** well and cause mayhem on brief, but furious scales with their explosives. They worked with the Cartel to pull off assassinations and build their impressive military. It was suspected the mastermind behind Shanghai was a ranking member. If one man could cause such devastation, the group itself was a monster to reckon with. 

The Sicario Cartel was the proverbial 'Scarface' of most Mexican cartels. They had the money, the power, the respect, and the fear of all their rivals. They were protected by the Insurgent Dragons or 'I.D.s', and they were given passage to and from Mexico by the connections the I.D's made. The last link of the chain were the Blu-Bludz street gang. They were the ones getting the drugs, chopping them down, and putting them on the streets. The problem was that some of the cocaine they were shipping was actually wired with explosives. When confiscated by police, they were promptly detonated when the Bludz saw fit.

The Bludz also helped in the human trafficking in Texas and Louisianna, which made them particularly useful to the Cartel when they got a big slice of the profits.

It was an alliance of guns, drugs, explosives, and sex. A deadly accord established between the three groups.

The reason Alice said many people would die, was because the operation they were trying to recruit Salem for involved a lot of innocent people who would be slaughtered or enslaved to the increasingly powerful Cartel. She'd seen their videos of dismembering victims to send a 'message' to the American people who were trying to counter-act their growing forces.

"…We'll have to start recruiting and pray we can intervene." Tyson lowered his head and approached the door. "Get some rest, Alice. We'll be in touch."

"Tyson." She spoke as the man froze in the doorframe. "You did what you felt you had to do. Don't be ashamed of that."

"Salem's still alive…" Tyson trailed with his words. "…But I killed my best friend…" As he gently shut the door, Alice was left to her silent room…

**Chapter 1: **One Year Later

It was pitch black out.

On board the massive T.W.O. owned chopper, a group of T.W.O. operatives were well on their way to land in Mexico City to deal with a particularly powerful man who had taken one of the Vice President's sons from his vacation and into the city as a hostage. The city was chucked full of Insurgent Dragons and Sicario Cartel members. Their recon team had discovered the complex that the young man was being held in had several RPGs, sub machine guns, pistols, grenades, and more ammunition than the U.S. Military ready to go at whoever was stupid enough to try and rescue the boy and not bring their ransom.

The job was simple for T.W.O; five ops would take the mansion in teams of three and two. The main three would take the front gate while the other two would go around the back while fire was drawn. It was a simple 'Pincher' attack, but they had to play it smart.

Tyson was on board looking over the city as they were getting ready to land far enough where they could approach strategically. Things were tense for him, as he knew they were in for a firefight. He, as well as his other operatives were armored head to toe, with their masks currently up.

Rios sported his classic 'half-skull' blue mask, and two of his new guys had their own designs on their masks. One had tribal-looking designs and the other had three white stripes running down the lower face. These two were **James Guerrero**(Bravo) and **Charlie Weston **(Alpha).

Sitting across from them were two women who were in similar armors. One of the women was Black, and the other Puerto Rican. The olive skinned woman was very beautiful with black war paint on her face in form of a giant circle over her right eye. The Puerto Rican girl was equally as lovely, but seemed slightly more tomboyish with her neck tattoos of tribal designs visible along the right side of her neck. The dark skinned woman was **Rochelle Wilson**, and her partner was **Suzy Ortiz**.

Rochelle had a black mask with a toothy grin on it, but also it had a Glasgow Smile painted on it in deep red with 'blood' trailing to the bottom of the mask. Suzy had a Green and Black mask that resembled Iron Man's mask, with the formerly gold section of the faceplate now being dark green.

The ride was far from silent…as the last few minutes was filled with singing from Rochelle and Suzy…

"_Babe, I like the way you move! Way you work it on the floor! Keep on doin' what you do!"_ Wilson sang while bouncing in her seat with her partner.

"_I might!"_ Suzy added in, while laughing.

"_Take ya home and watch it some more! Ain't nothin' wrong with, havin' a little fun is it? Let's keep on bouncin' baby til the party's done with!"_ Rochelle continued, but the two women now sang in unison with amusement resounding in their voices.

"_We can bounce like my checks did back in the day! Before I got this paper! Before I got paid!"_

Weston coughed. "Geeze, you two gonna keep on singin'?"

"You gonna keep on being useless?" Suzy playfully kicked her foot at Weston while sitting. She missed by a mile, but he got a point.

"We're gonna get the kid before you guys do, for sure." Guerrero chuckled. "Your singing is gonna attract all kinds of attention. Just like it did in Calcutta."

Rochelle rolled her eyes. "That doesn't count. We were trying to save Steve."

"Poor Steve." Ortiz added. "Such a good soldier. Rest his soul."

"Steve's still alive, right?" Weston sounded perplexed as he looked to his partner. "I mean…he took a pretty nasty boot to the face but…"

Guerrero shrugged. "Hell if I know. Maybe he died after we got out of there? It was his fault for leaving his partner behind and chasing some naked chick."

"He's alive…" Rochelle interrupted while drumming her hands impatiently on her knees. "Last time I heard, he was knocking back beers and going to love hotels with chicks that dug his one-leg."

"Still's got two legs if you ask him." Guerrero chuckled. "Guy's never had a problem gettin' chicks. Good soldier, just an addict."

Tyson was getting a little tired of their banter. It reminded him a little bit about some of the silly things he and Salem used to talk about even during the heat of combat. "Alright guys, settle down. We're getting ready to touchdown."

"Got it, Mr. Clean." Weston nodded. "We going in with code names, sir?"

"Yeah. I'm Reaper Blue." Tyson said while looking among them. "Eko," He pointed at Ortiz. "Greek," Then to Wilson. "Alpha," Now to Weston. "And Bravo." Then his finger settled toward Guerrero. "Simple enough to remember.

"Why'd we get the boring names again?" Alpha sighed as the chopper started to descend.

"Rios isn't any fun, that's why." Rochelle scoffed.

Tyson started to pull his mask down and activate the HUD systems and night vision. "Alright guys hush up. We're all going to stay in touch during the trip up. Alice is gonna keep us posted on any developments."

It was late at night, and the darkness would serve them well when they approached the mansion from afar. It was about a two mile hike, but they were going to do it in stealth with all of their gear. It was a lot like the **hell week** some of them were used to in training.

Once the chopper landed in a clearing outside of the city, the group left and hurried along their paths…

**Division #01: **Monsters in My Head

"_Yeah, that's right! We __**OWN**__ this place!"_ Salem heard his voice echoing as he fired off rapid rounds into the armored soldiers along the ascending stairs. He recalled the firefight in quick flashes. Gatling guns, grenades, snipers, and adrenaline rushing hard.

He remembered Rios watching his back and he doing the same. They took on the stairs separately, but their individual skill was greater than this entire group combined.

However, something was different in this memory. He was crouched down beside a stair railing…he was waiting for the gunfire rattling over his head to cease so he could stand and return fire.

When he stood, Rios was there with a gun aimed at his face.

"_RIOS!_"

There was a loud thunderclap and Salem sat up in bed in a cold sweat. He just had the sheets of his bed over his torso, and all of his tattoos and stars on display. His bedroom was dark with just the lights of New Orleans pouring in dimly through the curtains. He reached for the other side of his bed…but it was vacant. It seems Alice left to handle the work she mentioned earlier. He was glad she was at least able to stay until he fell asleep.

Salem cleared his throat and pinched the bridge of his nose. He started to stand up out of bed and began to slip his boxers and sweat pants on, not wanting to walk past his window stark naked at all. His nightstand had a couple pill bottles beside it to help with his sleeping and anxiety, a four empty beer bottles, a Rolex watch, iPhone, and a box of Kleenex.

As he was making his way to the bathroom, his phone began to ring, which lit up the display of he and Alice together. The display also showed the name 'Ryan', which was not the actual name of the caller, but a code-name for his old partner in crime **Ryo**.

Salem picked up the rectangular phone and answered with a gruff and groggy tone. "Yeah, what's goin' on man?"

"Twenty minutes." The shady figure on the other end spoke. "Goin' on a little adventure."

"I had my last adventure bro. I'm out." Salem said while he paced toward the bed again. He sat down and spoke with a light groan. "Gotta find another guy for this one."

The other person was silent for three heartbeats. When he spoke, he sounded less than pleased. "Not an option. This is your farewell tour, we **need** you for this. Double the profit. Better for the honeymoon you and your girl want."

Money talked, as Salem often said. However, despite his damaged outlook on the 'jobs' he did, he still held some of his morals. He couldn't help but see Alice's face in his mind's eye. He did want to give her the best when they moved to a bigger city with more job opportunities for him. "Alright, alright. Just this last one. No more surprises, pal."

"See you in twenty."

The phone was hung up. Salem went to get himself ready quickly as he could while groggy and only…_slightly_ buzzed from beers. He knew he wasn't supposed to drink with the pills he took, but he enjoyed complaining to Alice that they didn't 'work' so he wouldn't have to take them anymore.

As he showered, he couldn't help but recall gunfire and the heat of war. He flinched every time he turned on.

After a quick shower he dried off and found a decent tank top to wear under his Kevlar vest. A baggy T-shirt was placed over it and it was left un-tucked to conceal the protective gear.

He tucked a pistol at the crotch of his pants just in case things got a little troublesome beyond his expectations. When the floor creaked as he walked, he constantly looked over his shoulder. He expected Rios, his brother in arms, to be there watching his back in case someone was following him.

"Got a bad feeling about this, Salem." The 'ghost' of Rios said. He was fully geared and crouched down with a massive assault rifle in his grip.

Salem looked toward the window while his thumb twitched. He pulled his pistol out and got low to the ground. "Let's check the window, man. The bastards probably are watching…" The duo snuck to the window nearest Salem's bed. Elliot peeked through the window to view the streets and rooftops.

He saw monsters on the rooftops. They were humanoids with black tendrils flailing about their bodies. They wore masks that were exactly like his old one. Slightly camouflaged with flames along the jawline. The monsters paced back and forth along the roofs slowly, as if waiting for Salem's arrival. Of course in reality, no one was there.

"Tagged." Salem said as he saw one of the bigger demons get highlighted as if by one of Alice's devices. "We'll take that bastard down first."

"Hey, Salem." The Rios ghost said while checking the magazine of his weapon. "You need to watch your back out there, kid. Remember when you told me about this gang?"

"Yeah…" Salem crouched down with his back to the wall now. "After our first tour, right? Got a couple of drinks going and all…" Salem chuckled. "I grazed your ass when we were in a shootout before that."

"Don't forget I kicked your ass at beer pong after that." Rios responded, but the ghost got back to his point. "Thing is, kid. This Ryo guy…, you saved his life when you were younger right? Let's not forget what happened when you came to the Rangers and quit the gang though. He said you'd never be allowed back in town for betraying the gang. What do you think your 'retirement' will be like with this same guy?"

Salem exhaled in annoyance. "Things changed."

"You became who you are now, Salem. That's all." Rios furthered his plea. "He had use for what you learned. Tonight he's going to try to end it and end you. I know you feel it in your guts."

"Coming from a guy who shot me to save a city that really wasn't in any nuclear trouble…" Salem grimaced. "I trust me, and I trust Alice. All I need is for you to watch my back."

"I will." Rios said as he stood up, still concealed beside the window. "I'm sorry, brother. If you want to get it over with…shoot me."

Almost without flinching, Salem drew his gun up and aimed for Rios armored chest. He held the gun steady as he could, but sometimes trembled due to his recent fit of drinking. His heart was beating as the pain of being shot raced through his body from the wound he suffered for Rios in the name of Shanghai. His jaw tensed, his finger twitched over the trigger, but he did not pull it.

After a few tense seconds, Salem lowered his gun… "…I'll do it when I'm good and damn ready, Rios." Salem said to the ghost. "…I have a lot of changing to do. I'm willin' to do whatever it takes to get out of this crap with Alice. This is the last job, man. Ryo's not gonna screw me over…this…this is what I gotta go through to get out the game."

"Being enlightened is no longer enough; **you must apply**." Rios said while looking down at Salem. "Being willing is no longer acceptable; **you must do**. _Make it count_, kid."

After Rios' words…Salem heard a black SUV pulling up outside the apartment complex. He peeked over, and all of the demons were gone. He recognized the vehicle as Ryo's…and he knew it was time to go. "Hey Rios, thanks-…" He turned to see the ghost was no longer there…

(**Division End**)

"The kid we're rescuing's name is Andy Vogart." Rios said silently as he crept with Alpha and Bravo through the city, closer to the large mansion that stood in juxtaposition to the rather shabby are it was in. "Eko, I'll need you to get a visual for us before we go in. Tag him and we'll get a route planned."

"Roger that, Reaper Blue." Eko responded. She and Greek were a little further ahead with their route already set up. Eko was the sniper of the team, and Greek was going to play 'ninja' and sneak in and remain undetected, hopefully.

Bravo peeked over his shoulder as the team snuck through alleyways of the nearly dead cityscape toward the large white mansion that seemed much like a mockery of the White House than a legit mansion. It had two large fountains on either side of the lawn that was split by concrete walkways. The fountains were about a meter deep and in the design of odd-looking demonic statues. There were several large trees on the lawn as well, as their recon had detailed that the owner of the mansion, Ryo Nagasaki, was a fan of birds. He had several bird houses on the trees, and hoped to attract them toward this particular mansion.

The first floor had a dozen and a half windows on the front of the large white double doors. There was a railing on the second floor to match the 'C' shape of the building. The red roof shingles looked like they'd seen better days, but the rest of the house was very well kept. At least, for now. There were several cars in the circle drive that followed the concrete along the walkways and fountains. There were armored guards pacing in front of the open gate…it was like they were waiting for trouble. "Did communications come up yet, Reaper?" He said in question about Rios' communication with Alice.

"Not yet…must be some signal issues." Rios started to look around their surroundings before he motioned for Alpha and Bravo to hold their positions with a closed fist. "We're sitting ducks here in a bottle-neck. I'll take the gate…I need you two to breach the stone wall linked to their gate. We move once Eko and Greek are in place."

On the other side of things, Eko and Greek had taken out more than a couple of Cartel members silently. Eko climbed onto the side of an abandoned building near the mansion and set up shop near one of the busted windows. The perps inside were all dead, and she felt confident being left alone in there while Greek descended back down and headed for the back.

Eko got her sights on the building, and set up her gear to see through the walls. Her digital read-out came in on everyone else's HUD display, showing the number of confirmed targets, as well as a blue highlight of their kidnapped young man. "Confirmed. Target is alive, scared pissless, and tied up on the second level in the bathroom. It's connected to the master bedroom looks like. Heavily guarded. Kid is tagged."

"Good, now watch my back." Greek spoke in a whisper. There was a slight grunt over their communication systems as well as the sound of a snapping bone. "Giving these guys a quick break."

Rios sighed. "…Hate that I laughed at that inside."

"It was kinda funny, old man." Alpha patted the big man on his back as he awaited the go-ahead from his superior to go ahead and proceed.

Rios gave them the motion to move forward. He had his gun ahead of him in case they were spotted early. He wasn't going to risk them being shot down before they could get over. "Eko, track Alpha and Bravo's path. Any trouble?"

A second later when Greek stopped moving, Eko swung her vision toward Alpha and Bravo's location. "Two heavies are posted. Be careful."

Alpha and Bravo could handle themselves, Rios knew. He exhaled slowly and watched the young men scale the tall wall by boosting one another up. Once Bravo was on top, he reached down to catch the jumping Alpha's hand to pull him up onto the thick top of the stone wall.

"Greek, how're we looking?" Rios said quietly as he began to emerge from his hiding place.

"We're set." She said with a slight exhale. "Got the freaking Cheetahmen 2 theme stuck in my head…"

"_Che-tah-men, we are the che-tah-men._" Alpha sang in a whisper as he propped up on the fence.

"Let's move!" Rios announced as he rushed from his hiding place and slid into place beside one of the parked Beamers across the street from the mansion. He aimed over the hood of the car and fired rounds at the guards. The rapid gunshots got **everyone**'s attention. They began shouting in Spanish as gunfire started to thump against the vehicle and its general area. Rios was pinned down, but this was by design.

Alpha and Bravo dropped down with their knives in their grips. They pierced the backs of the heavy armored soldiers necks with a single strike, and took them down. Bravo pulled his target up as a shield when sudden gunfire shifted his way from a man who was dressed in a white suit as if he thought he was Scarface. After the first shot, the man was down on the ground after Alpha lit him up with two shots to the skull. While the body hit the ground, Alpha held his pistol forward as he raced across the grassy lawn with Bravo in tow with his assault rifle spraying off each time they came across some of the armed cartel members.

They found shelter behind two large trees on the lawn. Bravo was the first to aim backward and spray at the backs of the men pinning Rios down. Alpha was covering the front, looking around for an entry point. Thank goodness for the night vision, because he saw one of the gangsters heaving a rocket into a rocket launcher on the west end of the mansion's roof! "RPG on the roof!"

Suddenly the man holding the RPG had his head taken right off by a single bullet. 

"_And he's gone._" Eko said with pride in her perfect shot. "Get to the door. They're racking up their defensive line around the boy."

Down on the ground, Greek was putting her parkour skills to use as she jumped off one of the trash bins and gripped the storm pipe along the side of the building. She climbed up it like a monkey and gripped the roof's ledge. She shimmied across and drove her feet forward to land on the balcony nearby. She shot out the glass door and climbed through as alert as a crook in a dark house. As all the gunfire happened outside, she was lucky to not have any trouble in the trophy room she landed in.

She paused when she examined the room. There was quite an impressive collection of katanas and swords inside. She watched the door…then took a double take to one of the katana sheathes that came with a shoulder strap hanging on the wall.

"..Gearing up!" Greek said as she quickly rushed to the wall to loop the katana strap over her shoulders, armor, and various weapons she had strapped to her chest and back. The door was kicked open and three armored men rushed in. The first one had his entire head blown from his shoulders from a single distant shot from Eko, and this stunned the other two long enough for Greek to draw her katana in her right hand and close the gap. She swung the weapon skillfully, first cleaving through the upper portion of the first man's skull, then delivered a back-hand slice across the throat of the second. As he clutched his throat, he let off final shots into the ceiling before she finished him off with a stab directly between the eyes. "Thanks Eko!"

"Don't mention it. _Actually_, do mention it when Bravo and I hook up later and you buy the drinks." Eko said jokingly.

"Keep dreamin' sweetheart." Bravo said over the radio, still in a heated fire fight down below.

"I'll take that spot then." Alpha said quickly as he chucked a grenade across the lawn to try and take down some of the man finding cover behind one of the large fountains in the area.

Greek continued into the hall once her sword was held aside. After the explosion outside occurred, she used her pistol in her left hand to fire at a few of the men watching the hall and used what little cover she could to get through to a new hallway to press her back to the wall. "We need to take the door! I can't get too far!"

"I'm up, then." Rios said as he finally placed his firearm to his chest and pulled the **real deal** from his back. It was the **legendary** AA-12 that he fell in love with. The machine-shotgun was ideal for general mayhem, and that just so happened to be his specialty. With most of the men at the front gate now taking focus onto Alpha and Bravo, Rios was able to stop playing dead and now play _Reaper_.

The rounds fired from the AA-12 were like Zeus' thunderbolts. The bullets ripped through everyone who was unfortunate enough to be in Rios' way as he walked toward the front gates. Bodies piled up as the gunfire continued. This cleared Alpha and Bravo from their position and let them begin to advance toward the front door. They paused, however, when one of the windows broke and several grenades hit he grass!

"Grenade!" Alpha screamed out as he dove aside!

Bravo did the same, and lucky for the two men no major damage or shrapnel came their way as they dove into the fountain area that was just previously blown up. The half-drained fountain was the perfect cover, but this left Rios wide open as the attackers began to unleash gunfire from the first floor windows.

Rios moved as quickly as he could to duck aside the gunfire and get behind one of the trees.

Alpha peeked over the meter deep 'bowl' of the fountain and began to return fire near the broken windows. "I'll hold em! Go, go, go!"

Bravo didn't argue with his partner, and instead rushed out of the fountain while keeping low. He moved swiftly toward the mansion and put his back to the wall beside the furthest window.

The men on the other end were reloading and keeping low beside the windows…until a metal object hit the floor.

It was a grenade…and as they looked up, they caught the middle finger of the fleeing Bravo just moments before it went off, cancelling their attempt to run themselves!

"Nice!" Alpha said while rising from his cover to fire on the remaining shooters with help from Rios' AA-12 as he peeked from around his nearby cover. The walls and windows were getting punched full of holes while Bravo was picking himself up from the floor.

"Eko!" Greek called out as she now sheathed her katana to start to get her assault rifle ready. "Getting the kid! Cover me!"

"Roger that, sis." Eko said while getting her scope back on the building. There was a soldier that fled out onto the balcony to escape Greek's gunfire. While the others were trading shots with the woman, this guy snuck along the outside wall to get closer to where Andy was being guarded. "…He was sitting at the table, you could see he, was unable…" Eko sang lightly to herself as the man climbed into a window and approached the guarded bedroom. "Then he ran into the bedroom…" She watched the man go into the bedroom with his pistol up. She knew he was going to shoot the kid…but he caught a bullet from her right in the back of the neck. "He was struck down, it was his doom. Andy are you okay? You okay Andy?" Another shot was taken as one of his pals started to figure out there was a sniper. "You've been hit by," Another shot to the next. "You've been struck by…a smooth criminal."

"Will you cut out the singing?" Alpha groaned while he, Rios, and Bravo rushed the front door. The big man went through first while Alpha and Bravo covered him.

While the shootout with the remaining cartel members bled over into the living room on the first floor, Greek was rushing the hall leading to the master bedroom. Her vest caught a few shots that knocked her onto her backside, but the shots she squeezed off ripped the unfortunate mooks from crotch to throat as she fell.

"Shit!" Greek groaned. "I'm hit!"

"You're okay." Eko said softly. "I've got your back, partner. Someone get up there if she needs medical help. Are you bleeding?"

"I'm good…" Greek grunted while she started to roll away from the railing near the steps when shots from down below thumped through the carpeted flooring near her body. "Going for Andy, keep your eyes open."

Couches were overturned downstairs, used as makeshift cover for Alpha and Bravo as they handled the situation. Rios made the motion that he was going ahead, and he rushed out from his hiding place and squeezed off more powerful rounds as he began up the bullet-ridden steps. The flames building on the first floor from the grenades was eating their extraction time away. "Call in the chopper! We're getting the Prom King!" Rios said as he met up with Greek near the door.

Greek went through shoulder first with her rifle drawn. She fired off six shots, taking down a single guard and punching him through the window behind him with the force of the shots. Rios was right over her shoulder, chopping down the larger armored men with the godly firing power of his weapon. Blood and armor rained down on the bedroom. The mission was finished, as far as they were concerned. The gunfire downstairs ceased as Greek and Rios secured the room to be sure there were no explosives or surprises waiting on them.

"We're good!" Eko called out as she'd already called in their air support before the order was given. However…there was the sound of a chopper on approach…that did not belong to them. "…Guys, we've got a chopper on approach that's not one of ours. Can only assume its enemy support." She started to get the chopper in her sights, using the night vision to try and find any features, logos, or anything that could help distinguish it.

Rios and Greek untied the target and Tyson picked him up over his shoulder while Greek took the lead for the escape. The large man continued to communicate with Eko, however. "Hold your fire. Unless they fire at us, we're not drawing any unwanted attention. Alpha, Bravo, keep your eyes up with Eko."

As the partners confirmed Rios' order, the big man was trailing behind Greek to the base level of the now bullet-hole-covered mansion. As they got closer to the doorway, Rios hung back so that Greek and the others could confirm any weaponry or if it was safe to pull the target out of the mansion.

"Reaper, there's a cameraman." Eko said over the radio. "Want me to scare them off?"

"Negative." Rios responded as he started toward the exit. "Our chopper's comin in hot any second now. No time to spare, we **move**."

"You sure that's a good idea, boss?" Alpha looked over his shoulder to Rios, questioning this choice to go out into whatever this camera was recording. "It might be a local news crew, but it might be a trap too. What are the odds at this hour, even with the gunfire?"

Rios had to make the call here. He couldn't help but to flashback to Shanghai when he made a _bad call_ with Salem. "…We move." Rios made the order, and swallowed his saliva in hopes it didn't get them all killed. "Eko, pack up. I hear our ride coming."


	2. Time For War

**NOTES:** The 'Divisions' are like Side-Events/Chapters that exist within the chapter. It's just something I use in my style of writing to transition between story layers.

**Chapter 2:** It's Time For War

"Salem, go drop this off on the doorstep over there." The voice of Ryo said as the black vehicle they drove pulled up in front of a residential area.

From the back seat, Salem was handed a large gray duffel bag. He had been delivering these all night. He dropped them off near dumpsters around buildings, by apartments, and even funeral homes. He guessed he'd delivered about twelve of these bags now, without even questioning what the hell was going on.

"What is this shit, man?" Salem finally had to ask. He set the bag across his lap and started to unzip it as Ryo reached into his jacket to draw a pistol. Salem felt the gun against the side of his head as the zipper of the bag came back just enough to reveal the packaged white powder – cocaine – inside the bag. "…I didn't come back for this kind of work, man."

"I didn't tell you to get curious." Ryo held the gun to his head and did not even look his way at this point. "Drop it off. I won't ask you again."

Nothing burned quite like a bullet…especially to the _skull_. Elliot swallowed his pride and zipped the bag up and looked at Ryo. "Sure thing, boss."

When the door opened up, he stepped out with the bag in his grip. He approached the home…until a voice interrupted him.

"Elliot dear?" The voice of Tyson's wife rang out as she was finishing up fastening her daughter into the back seat of their minivan. It was odd seeing her out this time of night, but she was only stopping by home to retrieve a few toys; most notably the pile of Monster High dolls sitting near the slumbering young girl.

"Oh!...Hey!" Salem couldn't hold an attitude toward the woman. He had to also figure out a way to get out of this situation quickly without saying her name and giving the gang a reason to involve her or think she had any link to someone who could bust them. "Just dropping off some gifts for a pal. What're you doing out so late, huh?"

The woman smiled as she started to unlock her driver's door. "Just had to grab a few things. Been spending some time with my parents to help get ready for a certain someone's surprise party. I haven't seen you arou-…"

"Hey, I'll have to catch up with you later okay?" Elliot cut her off as he placed the bag on the doorstep. "I'll give you a ring soon okay? Gotta make it to this ten cent wing sale!"

"Oh, okay!" The woman said as she started to sit in her car. "Take care, Elliot!"

Salem rushed back inside the vehicle to give the illusion of urgency to catch the sale, but really he just wanted to get as far away from her and possible danger as possible.

"Who's that?" Ryo asked while watching the woman through his rearview mirror. The pistol was still in his lap. He saw her pulling out of the driveway and getting ready to turn to head past them.

"Nobody." Salem said as he looked forward, trying to play off the meeting entirely. In the corner of his eye, he could see Ryo lifting the gun closer toward his window as it rolled down. "The hell are you doing?"

"I don't like nobodies." Ryo lifted the gun toward the open window at level with what he figured the woman's head or at least shoulder would line up with when she passed. "No loose ends."

Elliot became tense. Tyson's wife had nothing to do with his beef with him. She also had nothing to do with Ryo's newfound insanity. As the vehicle started to drive by…Salem's heart thumped harder than repeated shotgun rounds to a metal door.

_**Thump**__._

The headlights flashed over the back window and onto the street from the woman's vehicle.

_**Thump-thump**__._

She was getting ready to pull out more into the street to pass them.

_**Thump-thump. Thump-thump.**_

Salem felt a bead of sweat forming along his brow as he constantly had visions of the woman's head being shot as she was going along her way. He had to do something, but Ryo was bluffing, wasn't he? His finger was on the trigger, and his hand was steady. He'd seen Ryo kill people before, and he thought nothing of it.

There was a large hand that slapped the window on Elliot's side, and the fully armored and masked Rios shouted at him. "Salem!"

It was an illusion in his mind, but he jumped at the sound he thought he heard. He reached over and lowered Ryo's gun as the vehicle drove by unharmed.

Ryo glared at Salem…but began to laugh as Elliot reluctantly took his hands off Ryo's gun.

"You've got balls, Elliot." Ryo placed one hand on the wheel. "She's not important. We've got a bigger fish to fry. Your last night's almost over, my friend." He left his gun in his lap and reached over to grab Salem behind the neck. He chuckled for a bit...lightening the mood.

Salem joined in, glancing to the guys in the back who also found Salem's reaction hilarious.

"Those pills have you crazy, man." Ryo said as he released Salem's neck. "You're like a paranoid junkie. Why would I kill your ex-partner's wife?"

Salem's half-smile faded. Ryo knew about Sam, and that was **not** good.

"What is she? Like an E-Cup? She's finally getting that breast reduction, I think." Ryo pulled out into the street. "A shame. Crying shame."

Salem was quiet now. The guys in the back were now engaged in their own conversations, so they paid Ryo no mind.

"See, that's just like a woman. A **wife** especially." Ryo continued. "They get something good, and they complain. They hiss and complain until someone takes it away. After that? Then they miss it. Your relationship flounders, because you were the only one appreciating their blessing." As he turned the next corner, he leaned back in his seat. "When a man dies, a baby is born. You know that?" Ryo glanced at Salem, then the road. "That's because his woman's already moved on. When a woman dies though? Hatred is born. You become bitter, you break partnerships, your darker side comes out. Know why? 'Cause you appreciated her more than she appreciates you."

Salem looked out of his window, deciding just to let Ryo talk and not comment on it himself.

"You and Alice doing alright?" Ryo asked as he stopped in the middle of some light traffic.

"Yeah," Salem really didn't want to say too much. He palmed his forehead, doing his best to bite his tongue and not irritate Ryo and end up dead on the side of the road. Despite the fact that Salem had a gun tucked in his pants to defend himself…he didn't want to make a foolish move. "We're fine."

"Yeah?" Ryo chuckled as he leaned his head back. "She's a good girl. If you lost her, you'd be a loony. I bet you'd shoot Tyson over her. I bet you'd shoot him anyway, because he turned his back on you." Ryo started to pull forward once the light changed green…and Salem stayed silent. "See…guys like that? They're American to their core. At least what they think America is about. They think they are making a positive difference, when all they're doing is promoting war through sacrificing other people, countries, and so on."

Elliot kept palming his forehead. He was regretting ever hooking up with the Blu-Bludz again. He just wanted this job to be done and over with.

"You know what a hero is, Salem?" Ryo asked as they drove along. "A hero's a dead guy. A guy who jumped on a grenade, took a bullet to the face, or died for someone else. That's a fucking hero." He nodded to his own words. "Not Superman, Spider-Man, or none of that shit. Those guys are vigilantes, not heroes. **You're** a goddamn hero, Salem. I know you are. You just haven't died from your sacrifices. Every man should look up to you for what you took in the name of a place you're not even from. Just imagine…just imagine if the same situation had to be done for America. Nobody would take that bullet and live."

"I'm not a hero, Ryo." Salem lowered his hand and cleared his throat. "I'm just a guy about to retire from shootin' and blowin' shit up."

"…You're gonna get your hero badge tonight, friend."

Those were the last words Salem heard as a stun gun jolted right along the side of his neck from one of the men in the back…and he completely blacked out…

**Division #02: **Till Death Do We Part

**T.W.O. New Orleans Offices**

While Salem was with Ryo, and while Rios was down in Mexico with his team, several of the other T.W.O. operatives were in their New Orleans location for training, doing paperwork from recent completed missions, or in the case of Mr. and Mrs. Shirai, being paired with a partner. After hours of mental testing, physical testing, combat testing, and the _dreaded _reading, comprehension, and math tests, **Evan** andhis wife** Kanako** were officially matched together by Alice Murphy.

It only took thirty minutes for the union of the two Japanese-American recruits to break down into arguments. Despite being nearly thirty years of age, war veterans, being married for one year, and now partners in T.W.O., something always seemed to spark a verbal spat between the two of them. The two walked side by side in casual gear; Evan was wearing a Hawaiian shirt over his black tank top and khaki pants, while Kanako was dressed in a White T-Shirt with "CELLDWELLER" Written across the chest and a pair of blue jeans. Her hair was layered; with the dominant color being a bright blue and the layers beneath were pitch black.

"So, let me get this straight." Evan walked the well-lit halls of the underground shooting range beneath the T.W.O. building. Along the white walls were pictures of various T.W.O. operatives, awards operatives won in national and global competitions, and a bulletin board that reminded everyone about the big team banquet for Rios' upcoming birthday. However, all of that was not as interesting as the current fuss-fight between the couple.

"You think _what?"_ Evan said in disbelief as he walked side-by-side with his wife. "Can you have a brain, Kana? Vader was the best wrestler in the world. Shawn Michaels had _nothing_ on him. What's Shawn got? A superkick? Vader was paving the way for big guys and powerhouses!"

Kanako wasn't so convinced. "Me? Have a brain? Shawn Michaels was, is, and always will be the greatest professional wrestler of all time. Also!" She held up her index finger to pause her husband. "On the subject of having brains, let's discuss that little bit of idiocy in Iraq again, shall we?"

Evan groaned and ran his fingers through his short shoulder-length hair. "Alright…let's cool it." He took a breath, trying to regain his usual stoic nature. He just was very excitable when it came to professional wrestling. "I thought I knocked the guy out. That's it."

Kana's lips curled into a grin. "The look on your face was priceless."

"Kana…"

"He got the hell up and kicked you in the balls." She snorted while her fists came to her hips.

"Yep…"

"No wonder we don't have any kids."

"…I love how you bring that up in public."

The woman placed her hand on her partner's shoulder and looked up toward the steps to the next level. "Before we sign out and head home, we should have a talk, since you're talking now."

"…Yeah?" Evan exhaled, thinking the conversation had something to do with…something _he_ had to improve. None of their talks ever included a single item from the scrolling list of improvements _she_ needed to make.

"A lot of the guys here talk about what happened in Shanghai." She spoke in a low whisper, putting her hands in the pockets of her jeans. "If it were us…would you shoot me to save those people?"

Evan contemplated for a moment. He took her question very seriously, as a proposed life-or-death question like that could be the deciding factor if he ended up sleeping on the floor, couch, or something of that nature. Also, she'd never let him hear the end of it if he said something …stupid.

"The bastard dies." He answered after a moment of thought. "Nothing's worth my partner's trust. Especially my wife's."

Kana's smile grew. She reached up and pinched both of his earlobes and placed a peck on his lips. "Partners til we both die, huh?"

"Not dyin' without you." Evan had no humor in his tone, he was dead serious.

"That'd be selfish." She gave him a light punch in the ribs…but paused when she heard gunshots ringing out from upstairs.

"Shit!" Evan quickly pulled Kana behind him and looked over his shoulder. "Go! Go!" He pushed her along, and the two ran down the hall back toward the shooting range without looking back. The gunfire continued up above.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Kana looked back, then ahead again. The shooting range was too far down the hall, but there were a couple of office rooms lining the hall.

The door that led down to the hall was popped open. Evan heard footsteps and orders being barked among the men. These were not T.W.O. ops…these were attackers.

Kana grabbed Evan and quickly opened up one of the janitorial closets and pulled her husband inside with her. When the door shut, the two of them realized they were in a hopeless situation.

"_Why the hell did you pick a closet?!"_ Evan silently argued.

"_I'm sorry, my ass isn't big enough to pull a better option out of!"_ Kana hissed back silently.

They heard the men charging down the hall, as if expecting to find more T.W.O. ops.

The couple's hearts were racing. They were unarmed, unarmored, and outnumbered from the looks of things. They saw peeks of the shadows that ran by…and they counted about six people that rushed past the janitorial closet.

It was dark inside…they had nothing to really fight with at all.

Seconds passed…they felt like hours.

They heard a door shut in the distance. The men had obviously entered the shooting range in search for people.

"_Lets move."_ Evan whispered as he took his wife's hand. She was breathing hard, considering the circumstances and the likelihood of their deaths. She knew someone was probably patrolling or someone would see them, but the squeeze she gave her husband's hand told him she was with him.

He took a deep breath and faced her. His left hand lifted and lowered…trying to coach her into breathing and controlling her fear. After the fifth breath…he reached for the door handle…and gently turned it. As he peeked out of the crack of the door, he kept his head low in case someone was behind the door.

All clear in front.

He peeked behind the door, and no one was there either, but there was gunfire up above.

Evan gave a hand motion to his wife, and the two of them rushed down the hallway at top speed while hand in hand. They heard the shooting range door starting to open…and immediately they paused and charged toward the nearest office door.

When they popped it open, they slipped inside quickly and shut the door.

The office was dark, but they remembered this was the place they had their first interview with Alice Murphy. She was still in the building tonight, so no wonder the office was still unlocked. Inside were a couple of guns on the wall that she collected, some battle-damaged rifles from the Shanghai incident, and several pictures of herself with Salem and Rios.

The most important thing was that there was a phone inside…a landline.

Staying low, Evan led Kana to the desk, and the two ducked down.

As if reading her husband's mind, Kana checked the landline. It was _dead_. She made a 'cut' motion with her hand at her throat to signal this. This had to be some kind of professional attack, they both thought.

The footsteps were getting closer.

'_Check all the rooms'_ A voice said in the hall. '_Someone's down here. Probably hiding.'_

'_Should have done that in the first place…'_ Another voice said.

'_Shut the hell up, Jim.' _The original voice grunted as the team started to disperse.

Kanako looked to her husband, and silently motioned to him that she was going to the other side of the room.

Evan approved, but only after giving her a departing kiss in case it was the last they would share.

With her heart beating like a tribal drum every sneaky step of the way, Kana moved past the door and hid herself in the darkness.

The door was **shot** open by machinegun fire. Evan panicked and peeked up to try and see his wife to make sure she was okay. He saw her hand wave to motion that she was safe.

'_The hell are you doing, Jim?'_ A voice called.

'_It was probably locked. Shut the hell up.'_ Jim responded as he pushed the door open with the front of his gun.

He moved into the dark room…and switched on his night vision to scan the area toward the desk. As he moved deeper into the darkness and approached the desk of Alice Murphy…he felt something wrap around his neck, and the final sound he heard was a loud _snap_.

Kana covered his mouth as she slowly lowered him down to the ground. His weapon was removed immediately, and its strap was slung around her shoulder. The side-arm was carefully removed and passed to her husband.

'_Gotta take a leak.'_ One of the guys outside said after firing rounds into a different door. '_Ryo better be ready to go…who knows how many of these T.W.O. guys are on their way back here for whatever.'_

'_Just piss on a wall, man.'_ A voice of one of the soldiers called. '_This room's clear. I think we might be on a wild goose chase.'_

'_Piss on a wall?...Psh. Watch my back._

The zipper sound was heard in the distance as the two partners geared up. There were some grenades on 'Jim', and they loaded up on a few of those as well.

Without words, Kana moved behind the desk and checked her ammo. She still had a lot of bullets left. Evan nodded to her and moved closer toward the propped open door. He was going to scout out the competition while one of the guys did his business on the wall down further along the hall.

'_Jim? All clear?'_ One of the soldiers started to move inside of the room. He had his hand on the wall, trying to find the light switch. What he got instead was a punch in the back of the head that smashed his face against one of Alice's framed pictures of Rios and Salem. The glass broke and some small shards entered his face.

The violent crash was followed by a gunshot, and the remaining four men in the hall were on high alert.

Kana took the lead of her husband and aimed the automatic weapon over her head and over the desk. She fired rounds off that punched through the wall that sent the soldiers running away from the gunfire. They were shouting at one another, and apparently from the report outside, there was a man down. Possibly the one using the wall as his personal toilet.

Gunshots were returned against the wall. Kana kept her head low as the desk and the items on top of it were ripped into shreds with each bullet that passed through.

Evan had his wife covered, as a grenade was rolled down the hallway. It still had its pin inside, but the men outside reacted as anyone would when a grenade came rolling down.

'Grenade! Hit the deck!' One of the three survivors shouted as they rushed down the hall and dove to the ground.

It bought Evan enough time to step out from the room and take aim at the men and fire at their legs and backsides until his clip was empty. Their hollers of pain were soon silenced, when Evan ran up and detached an automatic weapon from them. Like a true executioner, he finished two of them off quickly and left one just barely alive.

"Who the fuck are you guys?" Evan said as he rolled the man over and put the gun right to the man's skull.

The man just chuckled as he looked up at his judge and jury. "We're the Insurgent Dragons…you _idiot_. Kill me, go ahead. We're taking this place _and_ this city."

"Glady." Evan muttered beneath his breath.

Kanako heard the gunshot go off while she was exiting the office. She slipped on the vest that Jim was wearing, and had the other guy's vest in her left hand for her husband. "What the hell are you doing?" She said as she hurried and approached her husband. "We could have questioned him!"

"They're ." Evan started checking the bodies for ammo, knives, and other means of weaponry. He gave his wife a look…she knew well about his connection to the and his distaste for their very existence. "We've getting out of here."

"Evan." Kana had other plans, but she had to reason with her husband. "Alice is still up there somewhere. The guys might need us too. We can **stop** this."

Evan shook his head with his lips pursed. "They probably knocked out security cameras." He looked around along the ceiling. "They took out communications. We can't call for back-up…cops will take a half hour to get here...it's **hopeless**."

Kana turned her back on Evan and started toward the stairs leading up. "We're going to help the others even if it **kills** us."

Evan caught up with her and grabbed her wrist. "Kana!" He shouted while clinching his teeth. "They're goners! The best thing we can do is get the hell out of here!"

"Nobody gets left behind, Evan." She snatched her arm away from him. "This is Shanghai now. You gonna pull the trigger or kill the bastard?" She was locked and loaded…and started back up the stairs.

After a moment of contemplation, Evan tightened his jaw and tilted his head forward. The words had to break through the well build defenses in his chest, but as the seconds passed, his stubbornness was pierced by his need to help Kana. "Fine…Lets get to the locker rooms first." Evan hurried up the steps. "…It's time for **war**..."

**(Division Ended)**

**T.W.O. HQ – Outside, two minutes later**

The black vehicle containing Salem and Ryo pulled up in front of the T.W.O. building right behind three sets of black armored trucks. All of the were inside, but now the Blu-Bludz were all pulling up. The street gang hopped out of their cars with various bags and guns.

Ryo climbed out of the vehicle after his men pulled the unconscious Salem out of the passenger side and slapped handcuffs on him behind his back. They pulled him up to his feet as he started to come to.

Everything was a blur to Salem…and he kept nodding in and out as they dragged him toward the T.W.O. building. He remembered flashes of seeing bodies on the floor…T.W.O teammates laying dead and unarmored on the ground. The secretary even was riddled with bullet holes. He thought it was all a dream, but the further up along the stairs they went, the more Salem realized it was a reality.

After he blacked out again…Salem felt himself placed into a seat.

When his eyes opened, he was face to face with the tied up fiancé of his…Alice Murphy.

Alice had a pistol to her head, and standing over her was Ryo…wearing Salem's old 'flame' mask over his face. If it was the exact one or a replica was unknown, but he had it none the less. Ryo had on a black suit that concealed his arms as well, with his hair slicked back a bit much like Salem used to wear his now longer hair. Next to Alice was a laptop sitting on a desk. The T.W.O. members in the room were all dead, and only the and Bluz were surrounding them.

The laptop showed live footage of T.W.O. rescuing the Vice President's son Andy Vogart…but Salem did not draw the connection to anything immediately. All he saw was Alice in danger.

"You sick son of a bitch!" Salem thrashed, but for his troubles, he was slapped across the knees with a solid black baton by one of the Bludz. "Gah! Damn it!" Salem growled in agony, but he kept his eyes on Ryo…then to Alice.

She was remaining calm, and kept her eyes closed. She took deep breaths, trying to stay positive even in these dire moments.

"You have a choice, Salem." Ryo spoke in a whisper.

"Fuck you!" Salem spat his words out and tensed up. His neck was straining as were his shoulders to rip free of the cuffs behind his back. "I choose to whip your sorry ass, Ryo! Come on! Get the cuffs off and lets go!"

Ryo didn't hesitate. He shot a hole right between Alice's feet, just barely missing her shoes. He wanted to show Salem he was all business, and the panicked mercenary looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Ryo! This has **nothing** to do with Alice! Let her go!" Salem pleaded, now stopping his struggling to try and negotiate with this clear psychopath. "Alice? Alice, look at me. Alice…, baby, look at me, okay?" Alice didn't open her eyes. This was far too real, but she wasn't going to watch and let her panic take her over. "Alice, everything is cool, okay?"

Ryo smiled behind the mask and spoke calmly. "No it's not." The gun was once again lifted near her neck. "You have a choice to make, Elliot. I want you to prove how selfish you are as an American. Prove how you will do what serves you best and allow the rest of the world to rot." Ryo's eyes narrowed behind the eye openings. "Alice's life, or this city. It is your choice, it is your sacrifice. Will you join the rest of the world and put your community first? Or will you hold onto your own needs?"

"I don't give a shit about anything but Alice, Ryo." Salem spoke truthfully. "I chose her. Don't you dare fuckin' hurt her…I swear…" Elliot was cracking a little bit emotionally. He had his fists clinched up and tears of anger starting to build in his eyes.

Ryo stayed in place a moment longer…and then he finally lowered his gun. "I'm a man of my word. Alice is the choice. You two will leave here alive and you will take the first plane, bus, or ride out of this state. This deal ends if you make a single sound to disrupt my video. There will be no take-backs."

Ryo stepped away from the two, and some of his men gathered the laptop and a few other bits of technology to prepare a video.

As they set up…Salem could not help but wonder what chaos they had planned.

Just about two minutes later, Ryo was in front of a camera with Salem's mask on. As he spoke, a voice scrambler deepened his tone and distorted it to hide his identity. In seconds, Ryo was on every television station in the city, and it quickly caught attention of others on the web.

"Heathens and idiots, we are the Insurgent Dragons." Ryo spoke with his hands neatly folded in front of him. "I am their brave and bold leader, once again sending you, the American public, a message. We warned you a few days ago that if we did not receive your ransom as a monetary sacrifice for Andy Vogart, that we would strike fast and forceful. You thought that we would not be watching. You thought that big brother was away and that you could do whatever you wanted. You thought that we were amateurs." His shoulders lifted as he leaned toward the camera more. "You thought wrong."

The video footage of Rios and the others getting into a chopper was being aired live with night vision. The bodies of the Cartel members were strewn all around, and it was clear there was a firefight.

"The members of the organization '**T.W.O**' were hired by the United States President and Vice President to bring Andy Vogart home." Ryo explained. "We will allow this to continue, we will allow him to return, but that is just so that the rest of your country sees what you have sacrificed for him. Those who have helped you have already begun atoning for their sins with several deaths…but the city of New Orleans is about to feel a crippling blow."

The video transitioned back to Ryo. "We have planted several tons of explosives throughout the city. In just a few moments, we will detonate them all and begin taking claim to this city in the name of the true American Dream. No longer will America live by the slogan of '_Kill them all and let them die'_. We will live with integrity…we will reap what we sew."

Meanwhile…downstairs…the Bludz left to patrol the door were all mostly on the ground with bullets in the backs of their neck.

Silenced gunfire went off as another body fell limp onto the ground.

Evan snapped the neck of another armored Blud member along the stairs, and motioned for his wife to follow him. Each of them were geared up now, with their T.W.O. gear fully on. Evan wore a white facemask with a pair of Ace logos on the corner of the mask. He was code named _**Poker Face**_. His wife had a light blue-and-red mask that had four red large slash marks over the blue mask that went from the upper left to the lower right. She was code named _**Riptide**_.

They scaled the stairs carefully and kept their heads low. They progressed through the halls undetected, avoiding encounters where they could until they reached their objective which was the third floor.

Evan and Kanako both knew that alerting anyone on the third floor was going to spell disaster. If no one was alive up above, they wouldn't mind shooting their way out to escape with their own lives.

The third floor was vacant except the room Elliot and Alice were held in. They both heard the voices inside and figured the lack of security meant that everyone else was either dead or captured. As they approached the opened door to the large office room that Salem and Alice were inside, they slowed down to plan their attack.

Inside, Ryo finally finished his message with a warning. "In twenty minutes we will launch our first attack. There is no negotiation, no ransom, no mercy. I suggest that you have the city of New Orleans evacuated. Good luck…and goodbye…"

Once the feed was cut, Ryo stood up and made a motion toward Alice with his hand. "Let her go." As the words left his lips, the henchmen of his unlocked the woman's cuffs, but kept a gun on her just in case she got a little brave.

Alice was up and untied. Her eyes finally opened as a shivering exhale left her lips. She made eye contact with Salem as he was being un-cuffed as well. Two of the men had guns on him, knowing just how dangerous he could be.

Ryo held his pistol in his hand and stood to the far left of Salem and Alice. "You are free to go. Do not look back."

Reluctantly, Salem put his hands behind his head as motioned by the guards. Alice did the same, and the two of them were being escorted out of the room.

"Oh, and Salem?" Ryo said while raising his gun.

The aim was right at the back of Alice's head.

Salem was barely turning around when he caught the sight of Ryo's aim in the corner of his eye.

His heart pounded twice, and there was no time for thinking.

"Be more like Rios. I'm visiting his wife next." Ryo said jovially.

A shot was fired.

Salem threw himself against Alice and tried to shove her down, but the hot bullet scraped his upper shoulder and spun him out to the floor with Alice in his grasp.

On cue with Salem's shout of pain, **Poker Face** and **Riptide** emerged into the room. The first two shots that left Poker Face's weapon thumped Ryo in his upper chest and knocked him over the desk he recorded at. Riptide let go a spray of bullets while keeping low. She went over to Salem and Alice and tried to help them up while her husband threw himself behind a support pillar and returned fire.

"Come on!" Kanako shouted at Alice as she snatched her by the hand. Alice assisted Salem while Kana covered them. She was under heavy gunfire, but she did a good job at taking out immediate threats as bullets whipped past her ears.

Once Salem and Alice were out the door, Evan chucked a grenade from behind the support pillar and made a run for the door. "Let's go!"

"On it!" Kana called back as they ran with their arms swaying side to side while clutching their automatic weapons. Evan took the lead, and Kana watched his back and stayed behind Elliot and Alice. Salem was bleeding and in pain, but he turned to Kana as they rushed down the steps.

"Give me a gun!" Salem pleaded with his left hand extended back to her.

Kana spared her pistol to Salem once they got to the second floor, but Alice stopped her running to pilfer an assault rifle off the dead body of a gangster out along the steps leading to the first floor.

Gunfire was raining down at them, but thankfully the grenade slowed their pursuers down enough to allow them to charge the front doors.

There were black cars pulling up, and Evan knew they were loaded with thugs aligned with the . His hand went to his pocket and he chucked a set of keys toward his wife. "Kana! Get them to the car!" Evan spun around immediately and started to open fire on the vehicles when he saw them taking aim at him. They all dispersed and ducked down behind other vehicles as Evan backtracked toward the parking lot.

Kana rushed to their green SUV parked in the third row in the T.W.O. parking lot. She pressed a button to unlock the doors, and pulled the back door open for Salem and Alice to get inside. "Get your ass over here!" She shouted to her husband as she ran around the front of the car and hopped in the driver's side.

Evan's clip was emptied. Realizing he couldn't return fire, he dropped the weapon and made a run for the SUV. Bullets zipped past his legs and arms, and he got a bit of support fire from his wife, who had the passenger window down and pistol fire flashing from the opening toward the thugs firing at Evan.

The door was popped open, and Evan dove in quickly.

As the SUV ripped out of the parking lot, everyone kept low as they broke out into the streets. Police sirens were distant, but Kana was going to get them all the **hell** out of this area.

"Elliot? Are you okay?" Alice finally asked now that they were safe for the moment. "You're bleeding pretty bad…we…we need to take care of him!"

Refusing any medical help at this time, Salem waved Alice off. "I'm good, I'm good…" He muttered. "Those guys are goin' after Sam…I gotta call her. We gotta go get her and Tyson's daughter…"

"All in due time." Kana said as she started to breathe again to control her fear. "We're going to Evan's garage and get loaded up. We've got body armor, clips, and guns. We have to be ready for full on war."

"Calling Tyson right now." Evan pulled his iPhone from the glove compartment. "Fucking …" He growled as he smacked the dashboard twice in anger. He swore loudly as frustration set in.

"Hey!" Alice shouted. "What's the deal? You said you were going to call Tyson!"

"…Give him time." Kana exhaled her words as she made a sharp turn, making sure she lost anyone on their tail. "…He has some personal issues with these guys."

-

**A/N**

A long installment, but I got so caught up in the action! So, I just wanted to get any thoughts on the original teams I made (Eko/Greek, Poker Face/ Riptide). I'm trying to make each team have a distinct 'style', but it's a bit difficult with guns! More Alpha and Bravo to come as well.

Any comments on the plot would be appreciated!


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